Shi no Ryodan
by RizuMcButt
Summary: A fixed version of Desu Ryodan. The Yamis have vanished, leaving only a hint of Egypt and an empty place in the Hikaris' lives. With only that slight hint, can they manage to get them back?
1. Chapter I

**Shi no Ryodan**

The title, for people who don't know Japanese, (myself included) means 'death brigade'.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Yuugiou characters or Egypt. Unfortunately. If I did, I'd be very happy, and the proud owner of an African country.

On with the story. Enjoy!

___****

Yuugi and Yami sat together near the heater, one on either side of the footstool. Yami pulled a card from his pile and grinned triumphantly. 

"There's no use in even playing a card this turn Yuugi, I will win."

Yuugi also pulled a card and grinned in much the same way. "Don't bet on it Yami! I'll win this round!"

They counted together, each tense and ready to slap down their card. "One... two... three!"

Yami threw a red ace of hearts onto the pile of cards, and Yuugi lay a black ace of clubs. Both of their smiles faded when they saw the other card. 

"Another war?" asked Yuugi.

"I guess so, Aibou. Ready?"

"Ready."

They each lay down three cards on top of their respective aces, then paused and looked at each other. 

"One... two... three!"

Yuugi lay down a ten this time, and Yami a three. The taller boy's face fell. He frowned and pushed the haphazard pile towards Yuugi. 

"I'll never win this game. You have all the luck."

Yuugi laughed, "Don't mope, Yami! No one can beat you at Duel Monsters, so what if you loose a few times in the game of war?"

Yami looked at him sullenly. "A few? That was our sixth game, and I haven't won once."

"Uh, well, we don't have to play this game anymore. Jou and Honda will be here soon, then we can go to the arcade."

He nodded, "Right. Now lets pick up these cards. We want to leave a clean house for your grandfather to get back to."

Yuugi nodded, and together they picked up the scattered cards. As Yami picked the last one from the floor, the doorbell rang. 

"That's probably Jou-kun and Honda-kun. I'll go let them in!"

Yami shuffled the cards and put them back in their box on the table. It was interesting, this game called war. But it involved _no_ skill, and therefor was not his kind of game. 

Yuugi's voice floated down the hall. 

"Yami, ready to go?"

"Hai, Aibou, be right out!" Yami called back, and hurried to the door where Yuugi's friends waited. A round of welcomes was exchanged, and together the four left for the arcade. 

___

Ryou looked up from his book briefly at the sound of a door slamming. He sighed and ducked back into his story. 

His Yami was gone again. What else was new? Every night he went out to do his own thing, sometimes not coming back until 5:00 in the morning, and often sporting bruises and scrapes. But he knew that if his Yami looked like that, the other guy looked a whole lot worse. Yami was the best fighter he knew.

But Ryou couldn't help but worry. Even if the older boy didn't seem to care for him, he still loved him like an older brother, even a father. Since Ryou had lost his own, Yami had been the closest thing to a dad he had. 

And his mom was no help. She was constantly either gone, drunk or high. Half the time she was probably all three. She was almost never around. 

Ryou sighed again and stood up. It looked like he was going to be home alone again, so he may as well go make himself dinner. That is, if they had enough food in the pantry.

He walked slowly into the kitchen, ignoring the mess all around him. He had tried to clean it before, but both Yami and his mother had yelled at him, claiming that the only way they could keep track of everything was if it was out on the counter. 

He shook his head and dug out a pot from somewhere under a scattered newspaper and stale muffin crumbs. 

___

Honda laughed as he watched Jounouchi attempt to grab candy with the metal claw. 

"Give it up Jou!" he chuckled, "There's no way you're gonna get any candy!"

"Well I'm hungry! And dis machine's gotta give soon, I've been trying for ten minutes!"

Honda raised an eyebrow. "You realize that they make this things so that it's impossible to grab anything, right?"

Jounouchi pointedly ignored him. He pounded on the side of the game and worked the handle as if he were trying to yank it out. "Come on, come on!" he grunted, "The Gummy Bear! Is that too much ta ask?!" 

The brunette rolled his eyes and grabbed his friend. "Come on Jou, let's go see what Yuugi and Yami are doing."

"But my Gummy Bear!"

Honda dragged Jounouchi across the dark floor, heading towards the food court where they had agreed to meet the other two. Flashing, noisy games lined their path, trying to lure them in with promises of 'a win every time!' or, 'only one dollar!'. These had long since ceased to captivate and amaze Honda, but Jou seemed to have skipped that whole 'maturing' phase of growth. 

"Oh, Honda, that one! It's only six tokens! No? Then that one! Come on, dontcha wanna whack the gopher? At least the racing game! Aww..."

He ignored him and scanned the crowd for Yuugi. He knew he was somewhere around here... ah, there he was. Pulling Jounouchi after him, Honda crossed the busy floor and sat down at Yuugi and Yami's table. 

"Hey Honda-kun, Jounouchi-kun," Yuugi smiled happily at the arrival of his friends.

"Hey Yugi-kun. Sorry, we would have been here sooner, but SOME little baka seems to have developed a new addiction to the claw machine." Honda glared accusingly at Jounouchi, but the insult was lost on the blonde, who was fixated on the food booth a few feet away. 

Yami laughed, "I'd expect no less from him."

Yuugi and Honda grinned, but the smiles turned into gasps of shock when Yami suddenly reeled dizzily. His head drooped and the crimson eyes unfocused. 

"Yami!" cried Yuugi, concern for his friend filling his wide eyes, "Yami! Are you ok??"

At Yuugi's cry, Jou rushed over. He stared at Yami, who now held his head in his hands, teeth clenched. 

"Yami! Yuugi, what happened?"

"I- I don't know!" Yuugi stood and shook his Yami's shoulders. "Yami! Can you hear me? What's wrong?"

Yami grabbed his Hikari's wrist in an almost painfully tight grasp. His wide eyes met Yuugi's, unfocused and desperate. "Yuugi! Help me..."

The older boy collapsed onto the table, and with a final sounding metallic clink, the golden Puzzle landed next to his head. Honda pointed at it.

"Look at the Puzzle! It's... fading...?"

"No!" Yuugi grabbed his Yami's shoulder again, as if to shake him awake, but it was no use. He looked up at his friends with sparking tears brimming in his innocent eyes, threatening to escape. "Jou, Honda, will he be alright?" 

Honda quickly felt for a pulse on the pharaoh's neck. "He's ok, but his heart beat feels faint, we'd better get him home! Jou, help me carry him."

The blonde boy nodded and helped his friend pick up the still form. Ignoring worried and confused looks they received from those around them, they pushed their way through the crowds and out the door to the game shop, Yuugi walking faithfully by his Yami every step of the way. 

___

Mou Hitori no Bakura smiled slowly to himself. It always felt good to win a fight, to know you are the best. 

No matter how many times he felt tender human flesh give way beneath his onslaught of blows, no matter how many times he heard that musical scream for mercy, no matter how much sweet blood he spilled of an opponents', it still felt good. It still made him smile. 

He swung a sharp blow to the temple of the staggering man before him, and with a grunt, the man was down. 

The white haired boy sneered at the crumpled form at his feet. How pathetic, this one had fallen in two minutes. And he hadn't even landed any more that two strikes of his own. That second one had been good though...

He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and turned away from the mess he had created. All in a night's work. This man would certainly regret messing with _him_ when he woke up. If he woke up. 

Suddenly there was blinding pain inside his head. White-hot fury exploded and he whirled around to kill the coward that had dared hit his when his back was turned, but there was no one there. The pain faded as quickly as it had come and he frowned into the darkness of the alley. 

What had happened? Pain didn't just--suddenly he was again awash in mind-numbing agony, and this time it did not fade away. 

He staggered to the brick wall and fell onto it, just barely able to keep on his feet. What the hell was happening?!

Again he glared around, ready to remove the heart of the one responsible for this torture, but again there was no one but the unconscious man in the alley with him. 

Bakura looked down at his chest, and saw with some surprise, the Sennen Ring materialize over the material of his shirt. But was something wrong, it was not glowing with it's usual luster, it seemed to be... disappearing? 

A fresh stab of pain turned his mind to more pressing matters. Like getting home. If he was found out here in this state- he the man who had beaten so many of these back street punks- he would surely be killed. Maybe worse. People he didn't even know hated him out here. 

He turned into the shadows and stumbled back to Ryou's house as best he could. What was happening to him?

___

There. I'll add more later, but I think that's all I can do for today. Enjoy it? Tell me! Drop a review and I'll continue!

*in a creepy, over-enthusiastic Dragon Ball announcer voice* Tune in next time to find out what _is_ happening to Mou Hitori no Yuugi and Mou Hitori no Bakura! Will they recover? Will their Items fade out of existence? Will Jou ever get to eat? _Will I ever get Canadian bacon?_


	2. Chapter II

**Shi no Ryodan**

For the sake of my sanity, I will be referring to Mou Hitori no Bakura as Bakura, and Mou Hitori no Malik as Ishtar. If we call Mou Hitori no Bakura by his hikari's last name, why not Mou Hitori no Malik, too? Makes sense to me...

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Yuugiou. Probably never will.

To the story now!

___****

Ryou jumped slightly as the door slammed for the second time that night. Who was that? He wasn't expecting anyone. It wouldn't be his Yami, he never came back until at least 12:00. It could be his mother, come home to yell at him. 

He decided that it was his mom and didn't bother go downstairs to see her. If she wanted him she would yell loud enough to be sure he got the message, then stomp to her room and lock herself inside for the evening. 

He waited a few seconds for the wave of verbal abuse he was sure would fly upstairs. It didn't come. He frowned and opened his bedroom door slightly to look down the stairwell into the living room. She wasn't there. His frowned deepened. So who was it?

It occurred to him that it might be a burglar, and if so he would have to act with extreme caution. 

He opened his door wider and slipped into the hallway. Now he could hear footsteps coming from downstairs. Heavy, uncertain sounding footsteps. Had a drunkard broken into his home? In that case it could be even more dangerous. 

He moved slowly to the stairs and begun to descend them, making sure to avoid the steps he knew creaked. About halfway down he stopped. One more step and he would be able to see into the entryway. 

Before he could move, a low moan ripped into the tense silence. It was... his Yami?? He rushed the rest of the way down, afraid of what he would find. 

He reached the bottom and froze. His white-haired Yami stood near the door, clutching his head in shaking hands. Another terrible cry escaped the clenched jaws as he sank lower to the ground. 

For an instant his eyes opened, and Ryou saw a great pain shining in their tortured depths, and something even darker behind that. 

What was it? 

Fear? 

Who could have done this to Bakura? 

Ryou ran to his Yami's side and crouched next to him. "Yami! Yami, what happened? What's wrong?"

The dark brown eyes cracked open again, but this time they were covered with their usual mask of scorn, even if it looked somewhat pained. 

"Go away."

His low growl still carried the familiar tones of contempt for all weaker things, including Ryou, but it was tinged with something else. 

"But Yami, you need help!"

"Fuck _off_," the curse was weak, but it still made Ryou pause, "I need nothing, especially not your help!"

Ryou stepped back and regarded his Yami sadly. If only he weren't so stubborn. Anyone could see he needed help! So why did he have to be like this?

Bakura shuddered slightly, and Ryou knew he was in agony. Suddenly he could stand it no more. He stepped forward again and held his Yami's arm firmly.

"Yami, you _do_ need help, and I won't let you shrug it off. You're going to lay down and I'm going to make some food for you," Bakura did not seem to fight him, and he added in a softer tone, "Now stand up so I can help you."

With some difficulty the tall boy stood and it was only then that Ryou noticed the Sennen Ring. It lay on top of his black shirt, but it seemed different. Suddenly it shimmered, seemed to vanish for an instant, then it was back like the flickering glow of a dying street lamp. 

Ryou glanced down at his own Ring, and noticed it doing the same thing. Could they be connected to Bakura's pain? Both he and his Yami were linked to each other through these Rings, but then, why didn't he feel anything? Could it be somehow _his_ fault? 

Helping Bakura to the couch, he sat down near the other's feet and held his own head in his hands. He had to talk to someone. He didn't know how to deal with this. 

He looked up and, if possible, his brown eyes reflected even more sorrow. Like the lamenting eyes of a beaten dog, they seemed to shed their own sad light onto the world. 

An unnoticed tear coursed slowly down his cheek and he stood with a firm resolution. He would call Yuugi. His friend would know what to do. His friend always knew what to do. 

___

Yuugi sat on a chair near his Yami's bed, his face ashen. His anguished crimson eyes watched as his counterpart groaned and shuddered in the twisted bed sheets. What was happening to Yami? And why was the Puzzle fading? Soon after they had arrived home the had discovered that both Puzzles seemed to be flickering in that odd way. So what was going on?

Anzu knocked on the door and looked into the room hesitantly, and with a weak smile from Yuugi, she made her way over to him. 

"How is he?" she whispered softly. 

Yuugi's gaze alternated between her and his Yami. "I don't know. But I'm really worried. What's going to happen to him?"

"No one can tell right now, Yuugi. All we can do is hope." Her soft blue reassuring eyes looked into his and she smiled. He smiled back through his tears despite himself. "We'll always be here Yuugi, no matter what happens, you'll always have us."

He looked down at the ground, then back at her, and finally at his Yami. "Arigatou, Anzu-chan."

She smiled again and quickly brushed away her tears while he looked at Yami. "No problem Yuugi, what are friends for? And, I came in here to tell you that Ryou called. Bakura has the same symptoms as Yami, and the Sennen Ring is fading too, just like the Puzzle."

He looked up at her, eyes once again awash in concern. "Really? Both Yamis _and_ both Items. That can't be a coincidence! Do you think Malik and Ishtar are having the same problem?"

"Maybe. Or maybe they are sick _because _of Malik and Ishtar. I still don't trust them."

"Anzu-chan, you should..."

Yuugi stopped and stared at his Yami. 

"Anzu-chan, miru!"

Yami's skin was pale, almost translucent, and he no longer thrashed about as if he had a fever. Now he was deathly still. 

Yuugi blinked, and Yami seemed to get even paler, until Yuugi noticed the folds in the fabric of the bed sheet below him. _He could see the sheets below him?_ His Yami was fading, just like the Puzzle!

Yuugi gasped in horror and stood up, "Yami!" he cried, "Yami! Wake up, please!"

Slowly Yami's eyes opened. The proud, fierce look was gone from them, replaced with a desolate sorrow. He smiled weakly. 

"It's ok, Aibou. Don't worry. I am... being called back to Amon-Ra. I expect I will see you again someday, maybe in the next life, but please, don't worry..."

"IIE! Yami! Where are you going? What's happening? Onegai!" Yuugi desperately tried to seize his Yami, keep him from leaving, but his hands passed through his body. He gasped, and tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "Yami..."

By now Yami was almost entirely gone, only a faint hint of his body remained, but as if he had heard Yuugi's last cry, his eyes opened.

"The Papyrus of Anubis...!" he hissed, and he was gone, faded entirely from this plane of existence. The sheets his body had held up crumpled back to the bed with nothing to support them, like the shed skin of a snake. 

The golden Puzzle fell to the bed with no body to rest on, glinted one last time, then winked away. 

Anzu stared wide-eyed at the bed. Yami was gone. How was that possible? And what had be meant, by 'the Papyrus of Anubis'? She blinked and looked at Yuugi. 

He stood where he had been when his Yami disappeared, tears falling unchecked down his pale cheeks. His wide eyes stared unblinkingly at the last spot Yami had been as if he could bring him back with willpower alone. "Yami..." 

A heavy sorrow descended onto his heart then. It was if a half of him had been ripped away, and in a sense, it had. His Yami was gone. Yami, who had been a father, a brother, and a friend to him, was gone. But how? Surely it was a dream. Yes, only a dream that he would wake up from, then Yami would be there to comfort him. 

He reached down to feel the familiar weight of the Sennen Puzzle, to know that all would be well, but it was gone. It, being part of the same that Yami had worn, had faded with the other piece. 

And then he knew, this was real. 

His Yami was truly gone. 

What was he going to do?

___

Alrighty then! I finished the next chapter because... well because you told me to. And my muse wants me to write about Egypt now, so to do that, they have to GET to Egypt. 

Please review~!


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